“Staff Stewardship”

I’ve had the opportunity to serve on five different church staffs.  Each church has been very different from small, medium, and large, to rural, small town, and suburban.  Each pastor that I’ve served alongside has been very different and their leadership style has been one of the major differences.

One distinguishing mark of each pastor I’ve served with is their view of the staff.  Some have looked at their staff as hirelings.  Others have looked at the staff as worker bees.  Some have worked their staff to death…or until they finally couldn’t take it any longer and left.  Some haven’t led at all.  Many have viewed their staff in a way that is totally opposite of mine.

A particular difference is noted between my view and other pastors is what I would call “Staff Stewardship.”  Here’s what I mean.  I believe that we, pastors and supervisors, are given a great resource, our staff.  It’s our responsibility/privilege to invest, encourage, discipline, guide, and train them while we have them.  It’s not our job to push them to their breaking point, or beat everything we can get out of them until their used up. 

We have been given a gift.  We need to treat them like a cherished gift, loving them, getting to know them, investing in them, and helping them to become all that God intends them to become.  Anything less than that is being a foolish steward, not investing as the Master would have wanted.

So take a moment and ask yourself…”How am I investing, encouraging, disciplining, loving, and cherishing, this gift God has called me to steward?”  When you begin thinking of your staff in this light, God will begin to do some amazing things in and through them and you.

Next time I’ll share with you my views of how to treat a staff member when they leave…(just a hint…my view is not like most others)